Stone and Shadows
by King Under the Mountain
Summary: Hibiki Osamu is a recent transfer student to Yokai Academy. Blind and possessed of a frail body, will he be able to survive day one?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rosario+Vampire series.

Please note: This is based off of the manga, not the anime.

Chapter 1

Leaves rustled in the wind as he walked down the well-worn path, apparently oblivious to the gravestones that popped up every now and again on the side of the road. He ignored the squirrels that leaned off of the branches to stare at him with simple curiosity.

His eyes opened, revealing two pupiless, white orbs. Shapes and colors had abandoned Hibiki Osamu's eyes from birth, though he was not bitter because of the handicap.

Looking up at the bright sun, Hibiki closed his eyes and felt its warmth on his skin. The sun's heat was the only way that he could tell the difference between day and night, as his true sight was filled with constant darkness.

Suddenly, Hibiki heard something moving behind him, startling him out of his reverie. Quickly ducking behind a nearby tree, he continued listening and was surprised to hear the voices of four people, one male and three female.

_No, wait. _He thought to himself, _There are five, not four. Where's the other one?_

Turning around, Hibiki slammed face-first into someone. He clutched his nose in pain.

_Oh, so there's number five._

When he looked up, he was shocked. He could see. Somewhat. The image was slowly fading and it was colored in a variety of blues and whites. But what he saw was burned into his mind.

Hibiki saw a girl, dressed in a sweatshirt that exposed her shoulders and a mini-skirt with knee-high striped stockings. A lollipop was sticking out of her mouth and her hair lightly brushed her shoulders. He found himself saddened when the image faded completely.

* * *

Mizore was also clutching her nose with her eyes closed, but the pain went away quickly as she applied some of her natural cold to numb it_. _

_What hit me_? She thought before glancing over at Hibiki.

She was a little bit worried when she saw blood streaming from his nose, but that changed to a feeling out of being completely creeped out, as she noticed that he was staring at her. However, the feeling faded as she saw his eyes. They were completely white, with no pupils_._

_He's kind of good looking_... She thought dreamily, blushing unintentionally, but quickly added, _But not like Tsukune_.

The blood was starting to drip down onto Hibiki's tie, which did nothing to change the color as it was already red. Mizore quickly froze one of her hands and placed it onto Hibiki's bleeding face. This seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.

"Are you alright?" Mizore asked in her usual quiet voice, to which Hibiki answered with a nod.

She paused before continuing, "What's your name?"

"It's Hibiki Osamu."

Mizore nodded, "I'm Mizore Shirayuki. Are you new at Yokai Academy?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

The snow woman gave a small smile, "Lucky?"

He responded with a wide grin.

A bell tolled in the distance, startling both of them. Taking a cloth out of his pocket, Hibiki wiped the blood from his face and quickly leaped to his feet.

He gave a short "See you" before running off to class. She watched until he was out of sight. Mizore was amazed that, though he had not seen her earlier, he did not slam into a single tree.

* * *

The bell tolled again as Hibiki rushed into the classroom, closing the door just as it finished ringing. He let out a sigh, "Made it."

Looking around, he "saw" just as he had before, but this time it wasn't as clear. He could see the teacher and the students, but they were all kind of fuzzy. The teacher glanced at him before turning back to the class.

"This is the new student, Hibiki Osamu. Hibiki, this way please."

She guided him to his seat, even though he didn't truly need the help. He heard someone snicker as he sat down. Glancing to his right, he saw a large male student with curly hair and a lip piercing.

There was a loud, audible clang, and Hibiki's sight went completely white. He clutched his ears in agony.

"Just because he's blind, doesn't mean he's deaf, Saizo," a childish voice said from somewhere behind him.

As his "vision" cleared, Hibiki saw a pot on the floor and a rather large welt forming on Saizo's head. Looking back, he saw a small girl wearing a large, pointed black hat and a black cape, wielding a wand with a heart on the business end. He recognized her as one of the voices that he had heard back in the forest.

Next to the girl were three other people. The first one was another girl, this one with hair that reached down to the back of her knees. To her left was a girl with short hair and a rather large bust, and on her right was a boy with short hair and an average appearance_,_ though Hibiki sensed that something was off about him.

Glaring at the small girl for a few seconds, Saizo growled and turned back around, rubbing the bump on his head.

* * *

After class, the same group approached Hibiki on his way out of the classroom. The boy was the first to speak.

"I'm Tsukune Aono," he stated, holding out his hand. He then realized his mistake and started to retract it, but Hibiki grasped it and gave a firm handshake.

"My name is Hibiki Osamu," Hibiki responded, purposefully ignoring the surprised looks on all of their faces.

Each of the girls introduced themselves. The long-haired girl was named Moka Akashiya. The second girl was Kurumu Kurono, and the witch-girl was Yukari Sendo.

Hibiki's stomach growled loudly, shortly followed by everyone else's.

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" Moka asked.

"Sure, why not?"

"Great! We'll be in the cafeteria in a few minutes, so meet us there," Tsukune added.

* * *

Hibiki approached the door to the cafeteria. As he reached for the door handle, something crashed through it and slammed into him. He hit the wall hard. Looking down, he saw that it was Tsukune that had been thrown through the door. Wobbly rising to his feet, he regained his balance and charged into the room.

* * *

_Author's comment: Alright people, there's chapter one for you. Sorry if you think it's a bit shorter than it could be. But this is the best place that I could stop. I'll have chapter two up sometime within the next two weeks._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rosario+Vampire series.

Chapter 2

Rushing into the cafeteria, Hibiki "saw" a mess. Tables were smashed, there were craters in the wall, and food was everywhere. And in the middle of it all was a giant creature, with huge muscles and an extremely long tongue.

"Is that...Saizo?" Hibiki muttered to himself, seeing a small piercing under the monster's lower lip.

The thought faded as he noticed that Yukari was in his hand, being crushed by Saizo's enormous strength. Moka was uselessly pounding away at his side, tears streaming down her face. Kurumu was unconscious several feet away.

Not really knowing what to do, Hibiki hefted a chair and ran towards Saizo. He slammed it over the orc's face, adding another welt to his collection. Saizo shook his head roughly.

"You'll pay for that, you little bastard!" he screamed, before backhanding Hibiki with one massive fist.

The blow alone was enough to push out Hibiki's breath. He went flying across the room, dazed. Smashing through several pillars, Hibiki's frail body slammed into the wall with the force of a cannonball_. _He felt blood, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. It started sinking into the smashed stones of the wall and the ground. The room started spinning before going black_. _

_Huh, first day of school at Yokai Academy: go to class, eat lunch...oh, and don't forget dying_. He heard himself say in his head_. Actually, change of plans: go to class, eat lunch, and kick some orc ASS_!!

Hibiki's sight came back in a flash. He felt something changing, his shirt and jacket ripped as his muscles grew, and both fluttered to the ground, torn in half. His skin hardened and he suddenly found himself three feet farther from the ground. Clenching his hand into a fist, he heard the sound of stone grinding against stone. He felt stronger. He looked back towards Saizo, who was now slack-jawed and staring in astonishment.

Hibiki took several thundering steps before breaking into a full charge. Saizo leapt out of the way, but just barely. Hibiki skidded to a stop, spun around, and swung a stone fist towards the orc. The sudden attack smacked right in the middle of Saizo's face. Now it was his turn to take a trip across the room.

Saizo slid on the floor until his head hit the same spot that Hibiki had been thrown to only moments ago. He grunted once, and then collapsed.

Hibiki felt his own strength leave him. The ground soon came up to meet him.

* * *

The now-familiar blues and whites of his special vision flooded back as Hibiki opened his eyes. Looking around, he realized that he was in the infirmary. He also noticed that he was not alone.

Moka glanced up, "Hey guys, he's awake!"

The others all turned towards him. Hibiki noticed that Tsukune's left arm was in a sling and that there were several stitches on his face.

"You alright, Tsukune?" Hibiki gestured towards the injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Believe me, I have been through much worse," Tsukune responded, his face widening into an amused grin. Moka nodded in agreement.

Yukari suddenly popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, startling the hell out of everybody, "What kind of monster are you?"

"I don't know," Hibiki asked, a look of honest confusion on his face.

The witch-girl continued pestering, "Are you, maybe, a golem?"

"Sorry, no idea," Hibiki shrugged weakly, to which Yukari slapped her forehead.

"So you have no idea what kind of monster you are, and yet, you are attending a school for monsters."

"I know I'm not human," Hibiki stated, noted that Tsukune flinched at that, and continued, "But aside from that, you basically hit the nail on the head."

At that moment, Ms. Nekonome poked her head around the edge of the door, "Sorry, but you guys need to get to class. You need to keep up grades, you know? _Meow_."

Hibiki gave her a strange look in response to the odd noise. Moka, Tsukune, Kurumu, and Yukari filed out of the room, leaving Hibiki to his thoughts.

* * *

Feeling the room grow cold, Hibiki bolted upright in the bed. He glanced around a few times before calming down. Laying back down, Hibiki closed his eyes again.

"How are you feeling, Hibiki?"

Hibiki let out a startled shout. To his right, Mizore had suddenly appeared in one of the chairs next to the bed.

"Please don't do that again, I really don't want to add heart attack to the list of grievances that are keeping me in here," Hibiki pleaded as he tried to catch his breath.

Mizore laughed, and Hibiki soon found himself joining in.

"So what are you doing here at this hour?" Hibiki asked after he had stopped chuckling.

"I came to check up on you. I was occupied at the time when the others came in," she answered quietly, almost nervously.

He sensed that there was something more, but didn't push on the matter. It was quiet between the two for a long while.

Mizore stood up, "I have to get going. See you in class?"

"I have to stay in here for a few days, nurse's orders. Gotta let the medicine work its magic," Hibiki responded, "But yeah. Eventually."

He watched as she quickly snuck out by way of the window. He made a mental note about that in case he ever wanted to escape from the infirmary.

* * *

_Why did she come visit me? Why did all of them visit me? I've only known them for a few hours...And what the hell happened in the cafeteria? I remember slamming into the wall, and the blood seeping into the stones. _

He remembered the power that came with it, as well as the feeling of losing it, reverting back to his frail_, _human form. Hibiki clenched his fist, noting with disgust at how much effort it took to perform such a simple action compared to the might that he had experienced for a brief time.

He thought for a second before remembering something else_. There was a voice in my head. It was my voice, but at the same time, it wasn't. What the hell is going on?_

* * *

From within the shadows outside of the room, someone smirked as they listened in on Hibiki's contemplations. Though his white robes would normally have betrayed his position in such dark conditions, he made sure his magic kept him well hidden. The robed man dismissed his telepathy spell.

"It seems that he's starting to figure things out. Let's see how far he can get on his own..."

With that spoken thought, the figure faded into the darkness.

* * *

_Author's comment: I got through chapter two a lot faster than I thought I would have. Before you ask, I'm not finished introducing characters to Hibiki yet, so hold your horses on that matter._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the Rosario+Vampire series.

Chapter 3

A few days had passed since the incident. Saizo was back in class, now possessed of a new respect for Hibiki. To Hibiki's surprise, the cafeteria was put back in order, and it looked like it was brand new. Moka explained that the school was created by magic and that it fixed itself rather quickly.

Mizore seemed to shadow Hibiki as he went about his daily routines after class. He wasn't entirely sure what to think about the strange behavior, but he was more concerned with something else. Everywhere Hibiki went, he noticed two men, dressed in priest robe-like uniforms.

Seeing them yet again, he said to himself, _Who the hell are those guys and why are they following me?_

Mizore also appeared to notice them, and every so often glanced over at them. Hibiki looked back at Mizore. She ducked behind a pillar.

"You can come out, Mizore. I know you're back there."

She stuck her head out and asked, "How long did you know I was there?"

Hibiki tapped his chin for a second before responding, "Oh, about an hour now."

Coming out of her hiding place, Mizore walked up to him.

Hibiki glanced up at the sky, _Damn, I really wish I could see colors. It'd be a hell of a lot easier to tell day from night._

"Hey Mizore, what time is it?"

She looked at one of the nearby clocks, "About eight P.M."

"Would you like me to walk you back to the dorms?"

Mizore gave a small smile, "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"My eyes may say differently, but I'm not completely blind."

* * *

The pair walked down the grave-ridden path, the grim objects doing nothing to damper either of their spirits.

Mizore was staring off in some random direction, while Hibiki was looking straight down the dirt path. Something rustled in the bushes, startling both of them.

Hibiki stopped and grinned, "What are you guys doing over there?"

The rustling stopped and Hibiki heard several sets of whispers. An instant later, Tsukune, Moka, Yukari, and Kurumu popped up from behind the bushes.

Kurumu spoke first, "We heard that Mizore was stalking someone that wasn't Tsukune and we were wondering who it was."

Tsukune scratched the back of his head, "Actually, I wasn't a willing participant. I just got dragged along."

"Ironic. You people are stalking the stalker," Mizore stated calmly.

They all shared a laugh at that.

Hibiki suddenly became very serious, "Something's not right."

The laughter died down. Everyone looked around cautiously, jumping at every animal sound. Finally, they heard something stirring somewhere behind them. Spinning around, the group saw the two men that Hibiki had noticed earlier. They wore the same black uniform, their hair was the same shade of red, and they had identical faces.

"Oh dear, we've been found out. What do you think we should do, Itsuki?"

The other one tapped his chin, "I think that he is too much of a danger to the school. We should take him out, Riku."

Moka glared at the two in disgust, "They're members of the Student Police. A bunch of thugs and bullies, at best."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's no way to talk to your superiors," Riku scolded, "And besides, we're not here for you. It's your blind friend there that we want."

"Me? Why? What have I done?"

"I think we're done talking, aren't we brother?" They both nodded and pulled out what appeared to be spiked maces, "If you won't leave, then we'll just take you down as well."

"Move!" Yukari yelled, "They're witches!"

The realization kicked in as boulders and trees started hurtling towards them. Hibiki rolled out of the way of the projectiles. Tree roots sprang out of the ground and wrapped around Tsukune and Kurumu's ankles. Kurumu let out a high-pitched scream before the plant appendages covered her mouth.

Hibiki heard one of the brothers whisper, "Be careful not to draw any blood. You remember what happened to that orc boy, Saizo_."_

_Blood? What are they talking about_?

Another tree flew by_._

_Screw it. Better to try this than nothing at all_.

Hibiki pressed his thumb to one of his canines until blood began to trickle out. He spread it across the palm of his hand before slamming it to the ground.

At first, nothing happened. Then, the earth started to shake. Hibiki watched in horror as his body began to disintegrate. Everything went black for a few seconds.

He felt it. It was the same power that he had felt when he was fighting Saizo, though something was different about it. It was more...tame. His sight came back.

He couldn't resist the urge to look down. Hibiki saw that his body had changed. It was solid stone. He was still wearing the pants of uniform, though they were torn in several places. Glancing at his arms, he noticed a pair of crystalline spikes jutting out of both limbs.

Turning his attention back to the battle at hand, he saw his newfound friends in danger. One of the witch-brothers pointed his wand at Mizore, fire starting to form around the tips of the spikes of the device. Alarms went off inside Hibiki's head. He dived in front of Mizore and took up a defensive stance, his arms protecting his face.

The witch finished his spell. Flames blasted out of the wand. Hibiki felt the heat, but it did not hurt him. When at last the fire dissipated, he stood and examined his arms. The outer sides of them were charred in several places, but there wasn't any true damage.

Charging forward, Hibiki slammed his fist into Riku. The witch flew back and smashed through several trees. Itsuki, suddenly aware that his twin was no longer conscious, went berserk. He began casting the most powerful spells that he knew, all of them aimed at the stone goliath that had taken down his brother.

One rammed into his shoulder and chipped off a small chunk. Another hit Hibiki's knee, nearly causing it to buckle. More stones and branches flew towards Hibiki. Most of them just bounced off of his skin, but a few chipped off pieces of rock.

Enduring the hailstorm of nature, Hibiki thundered towards Itsuki, and slammed his shoulder into the man. The witch joined his brother in unconsciousness.

Hibiki walked over to Tsukune and Kurumu and tore at the roots binding their ankles. Once they were free, he stood back up_. _

_Well, now what? I have no idea how to return to my human form_.

"We don't know either," Tsukune responded, as though he had read Hibiki's thoughts_._

_What the crap? I didn't say that out loud_.

"You didn't?"

_No. _Hibiki thought, and pondered for a second, _Forget this. _

He closed his eyes, concentrating on an image of his human form. Surprisingly, when he opened them again, he was staring at the body that he had just occupied. It immediately crumbed into a pile of rocks from whence it had originated. Hibiki felt a compulsion to look straight down. When he did, he saw his human body. He dived headlong into it.

* * *

Mizore watched in wonder as the giant body collapsed. A wisp of smoke sprang out of its eyes and dived into the ground. A few seconds later, Hibiki's human form resurfaced, awake and alert.

He shook his head roughly, "Wow I've got a headache."

* * *

_Author's note: Alright here's chapter three. Sorry it took so long to post, had a difficult time deciding what would be going on in this chapter._


End file.
